Grigory Ivanovich Rossolimo (russian: Григо́рий Ива́нович Россоли́мо) ( – September 1928) was a Russian Empire and Soviet

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

who was a native of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. (He was of Greek origin; his grandfather had gone sailing from

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

as a young man, been shipwrecked, and washed up near Odessa, where he remained for the rest of his life.MGU biography page
/ref>) He specialized in the field of child

neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...

Biography

In 1884 he graduated from the

University of Moscow M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

, and subsequently worked under Aleksei Kozhevnikov (1836-1902) at the clinic of neurological diseases. He earned his medical doctorate in 1887, and in 1890 became head of the department of neurology at the clinic of Aleksei Alekseevich Ostroumov (1844-1908). In 1911, along with other academic personnel at the University of Moscow, he resigned in protest against reactionary reforms installed by the minister of education. Afterwards, he opened his own institute of neurology and

child psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult developmen ...

. In 1917 he returned to the university, and attained the chair of

neuropathology Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clini ...

. In this position, he established a department for child psycho-neurology and "defectology". Rossolimo is remembered for his work in experimental

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, research that included the development of psychological profiles. A particular study of his involved grouping children according to psycho-physiological characteristics and anomalies. He was co-founder of the "Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry", a publication named in honor of Sergei Sergeievich Korsakoff (1853-1900).

Associated eponym

* Rossolimo's reflex: Exaggerated flexion of the toes in response to percussion of the

plantar Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

surface of the second to fifth toes, and is indicative of lesions of the

pyramidal tract The pyramidal tracts include both the corticobulbar tract and the corticospinal tract. These are aggregations of efferent nerve fibers from the upper motor neurons that travel from the cerebral cortex and terminate either in the brainstem (''cort ...

Cultural mention

Rossolimo is mentioned in Mikhail Bulgakov's story, "The Fateful Eggs". Rossolimo was a contemporary and friend of the author Anton Chekhov, who was also a physician by training (Satran, 2005b). Chekhov's letters to Rossolimo can be found in "A life in letters" (Chekhov, A., 2004).

References

''Grigorii Ivanovich Rossolimo''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

* ''The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky'', Vol. 2, p. 315 (brief bio in footnote). * Satran, R. (2005a). G. I. Rossolimo (1860–1928). Journal of Neurology, 252, 1423–1424 * Satran, R. (2005b). Chekhov and Rossolimo Careers in medicine and neurology in Russia 100 years ago. Neurology, 64(1), 121-127. * Chekhov, A. (2004). A Life in Letters. (A. Phillips & R. Bartlett, Trans.). London: Penguin Classics {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossolimo, Grigory Ivanovich 1860 births 1928 deaths Soviet neurologists People from the Russian Empire of Greek descent Physicians from the Russian Empire Child psychologists Physicians from Odesa Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery

Biography

Associated eponym

Cultural mention

See also

References